Alrighty everyone, time for me to share a good driving song with you.  Here’s the back story to this one:

I like underground music.  I typically much prefer it to mainstream music, to the point of turning my nose up at popular songs even if they are good  (I usually am able to get over this and enjoy a good song even when it makes the grievous error of being played on the radio).  As a result, though, I have spent a lot of time seeking out musical underdogs, especially when it comes to hip hop.

Hit the jump to see what I’ve got for ya.

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The heart and soul of this site is about roads.  I know from the recent posts you would have no idea about it, but never fear.  Over the past two weekends I ended up on two of my favorite roads that I can rarely count on driving, The George Washington Memorial Parkway and the southern end of The Garden State Parkway.

Over the past week we have had a few posts about hybrids.  We have talked about their drivers and we have talked about the economics of the technology.  I have not talked about us.   Who do I mean by “us?”  I mean auto enthusiasts who generally accept that climate change is occurring.

It is, as the most recent post prior to this one shows, no surprise that Paul and I are skeptical of hybrids.  While I share his view that they are a good step towards the future, I have to say I remain unimpressed, and I am going to share with everyone why!

Paul’s anecdote of the two Prius (that is, according to Toyota, the official plural form) behaving like normal drivers is hardly rare.  By normal drivers, I mean that they were not driving in a manner designed at all to maximize fuel efficiency.  Instead, it is my personal belief that most drivers are very reactionary, and there seems to also be some unconscious (or conscious) personal pride as well, hence why people always seem to accelerate when you are passing them.  “No way am I getting passed!”  Not all drivers do this, of course, but I see it all the time and that is exactly what occurred in Paul’s story about the Prius drivers.

So, to seamlessly segue into the topic I will be covering today, let’s review Paul’s Reasons For Buying A Hybrid!  1. Environmental Impact and 2. Personal Savings on Fuel Costs.  I will be mostly focusing on the 2nd, but will touch upon the 1st as well.  Follow the jump to see my MATHS.

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I have come to accept the hybrid as a form of transportation. No, current hybrids are not as environmentally friendly as they are played up to be (the Volt may change this). No they are not the best choice if you want efficient transportation in a new vehicle (Diesel). No they are not the best choice if you want the most environmentally friendly vehicle choice (Late 90s Civic). But I accept that as a step towards the future (the Volt and eventually mainstream full electrics) they are an important one. Without them (specifically the Insight and the Prius) we would not be admiring the Volt or dreaming about a mainstream electric sports car. But all these points are ones that Will is going to cover in-depth in a future post. My issue with hybrids are the owners and the drivers.

To get the most benefit from a hybrid, it must be driven in a certain way. It is almost like driving a sports car in that you must become “one” with the vehicle, but it is being “one” in a very different way. Instead of trying to sense what every tire is doing and when to downshift to stay in your powerband, you must be planning ahead on how to motor most efficiently. This is a huge shift for the average driver’s thinking.

What is that shift?  Read more to find out…

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Well, been a while since I’ve done this.  I’m not sure if I remember how…

Let’s see.

1) Pick a song.  Ok, iTunes has helped me with that.  For this week, since it has been quite a while, I’ll picked from music that I have recently added to my iTunes.  We can delve into the other 338 hours of music another time.

2) Think of clever intro for chosen song…whoops.

3) Insult and belittle my co-writer.  Hmmm….

Hit the break to find out my song of the week

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One of the hardest things about shopping for a new car was deciding on the type of vehicle.  Needing a vehicle that would itch my performance desire while fitting into the practical daily driver box limited me to a few selections.  To expand my options I included some vehicle types that I previously did not consider.  This led me to hatchbacks.

Howdy all.  And by “all” I mean; whoever has managed to continue to check this site despite the hiatus, and whoever is a brand new reader.  We have not done a good job of keeping the site updated, so whoever may have been a regular reader is probably not now.  D’oh!  I can’t let Paul shoulder all the blame, as he did in his post yesterday.  The road goes both ways, as they say.  Hmm…that doesn’t quite make sense, that would refer to communication between us and the readers.  It takes two writers…to tango…no that doesn’t work.  That implies that Paul and I write each article together, are dancing, or worse.  Well, it would seem that I am not 100% proficient with my metaphors on a Sunday morning after getting only 5ish hours of sleep.  (Was I partying too hard last night? Sadly, no.)

Potens Reditus.  This title I decided to write in Latin.  I’m quite rusty, but in this case I lifted it from a previous blog I had years ago when I wasn’t so rusty.  So I’m fairly confident that the title of this article, in English, is “A Mighty Return.”  The previous blog had a similar post…and it was not such a mighty return.  I am confident this time, however, that Paul and I will pick this site back up now that our respective RLs (that’s Real Lives, for the uninitiated) have settle down a bit.  What’s on tap for the future?  Well, I personally intend to maintain a schedule of 2 steady posts per week, one being a music post and the other, well, I’m not sure which topic I want to make weekly.  You’ll find out shortly after I do though! I also have several rants and an actual useful guide planned for the near future, so stay tuned for those.  In closing, I have but one thing to say:  Paul is 100% absolutely right about Pittsburgh’s roads.  I leave you with a picture, that of course does not do full justice, to what my girlfriend dubbed “driving in a waterpark.”  Click to embiggen.

Two months.  Sixty Days.  Eight Weeks.  Yikes…

Its been a while, I know.  I take full blame.  One of the worst parts about having an interest that helps distract you from the every day, is that when the every day is happening you can’t be distracted.  That said, the past two months have been far from typical and I plan to get back to the groove of things right away.  I hope that you, my fellow drivers and enthusiasts, can forgive me.

Paul plots an apology

Two weeks ago, I made the most beautiful girl in the world into the luckiest girl in world by marrying her (ok ok, she made me the luckiest guy in the world, but its all semantics).  It very literally was the best day of my life. To spot her walking down the aisle, to see her smiling as she looked my way, to catch her laughing as she mingled with our guests, it couldn’t have been more special or perfect.

The only issues of the entire weekend were road related.   Pittsburgh (where we had the wedding) is an interesting city geographically.  The result of its layout is there is no real way to get in or out of town (when going south) without using bridges, tunnels, or a combination of both  Being part of Pennsylvania, the roads are in a perpetual state of construction and the result was some unexpected detours for our guests.  All handled it in stride and all had a good time.

To me, this feels like one of those driving events that is a metaphor for life (and I especially consider this as my wife and I continue to develop our life together).  Its easy to consult a map and make a plan and typically it is easy to follow that plan.  Sometimes, however, you have to throw out the map and go by the seat of your pants to get to your destination.  As long as you know where you want to end up (and put the work in to get there), you will get there somehow.

Our final destination is the same for all of us, so the ride is really all we have.  Make sure to enjoy it.

A few weeks ago I wrote a post about saying goodbye to a car.  I titled it “Closing Thoughts: Part 1″ on the assumption that there would be, at minimum, a Part 2.  Fate/luck/the efficiency of inter-continental transport dictated otherwise.   Within days of writing that post, I received a call to come collect my new car so Part 2 was never written.

I thought that, even with the lust for the new vehicle, I would still be missing the Volvo.  But I don’t.    I can’t put my finger on why so it leaves a couple of possibilities.  Is my new car THAT great that it makes me move on quickly (Yes, it is)?  Had I already drifted that far away from the Volvo before the purchase (this one I really do not know…)?  It is a strange sensation.  The connection I thought I had with that vehicle seemed unbreakable.  Washing, driving, pictures, you name it.  I loved that car.  That said, I still love it.